Amalgam
by Sparkflight206
Summary: A human once said 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger'. But what doesn't kill you and makes you stronger can also make you into something you never wanted to be. When Optimus brought back the Predacon skull, it saved Bumblebee's spark. Literally.
1. From Bot to Beast

"Did you find energon Optimus?" Ratchet asked hopefully.

"No. But I did uncover this." Optimus spoke softly as he placed what he was carrying on the nearest available surface.

"But it's impossible, they died out before this planet was fully formed." The red and white medic exclaimed in disbelief.

"What died out before Earth fully formed? What is it?" Jack asked while leaning forward over the rails of the platform he was on to get a better look.

"The ancient remains... Of a Predacon." The Prime stated. Ultra Magnus' optics widened and Bumblebee's span and dilated.

 **[A skull of one of those mighty beasts that are Amalgamous Prime's descendants? The same ones that you told me stories about as a youngling?]** Bumblebee beeped. **[How can even a trace of them be here of all the planets in the universe, let alone fossilised remains?]**

"That is a question even I do not know the answer to, even with the knowledge the Matrix of Leadership grants me, there is no record of such an occurrence."

Ratchet approached the Autobot leader as the others dispersed.

"Optimus. With a live Predacon among the Deception ranks, even if it is frozen solid in the Arctic, we need an edge. Creating a Predacon clone may answer some queries we have."

"You know I will not permit a sentient being to be locked up for no reason. Even if it is only temporary." Optimus replied.

"I am well aware that it is wrong to restrict a living being's freedom. I intended to give the beast the choice of helping us or not anyway. I'll be working with human cloning technology since we do not possess the cybertronian equivalent. Human technology is only capable of exactly duplicating a creature with intelligence up to that of the most intelligent dog anyway. anything beyond that is just an empty shell. That way if the Predacon's mind, primal as it is, cannot be replicated, the beast won't suffer."

Optimus was silent for a little while, deep in thought. Eventually he answered.

"Very well. Clone the Predacon from the CNA that you will surely be able to extract from this skull and you can study it's weaknesses so we can bring the beast under Megatron's command down without lasting damage to our own. If it ever returns, that is."

 **Time skip**

" _Ultra Magnus to base; the Predacon has returned. I repeat; the Predacon has returned. We require immediate backup._ "

"There is no time to waste. Ratchet, bridge myself, Bumblebee, Arcee and Smokescreen to their coordinates now!" Optimus commanded, his battle mask activating with a moderate clang that resonated through the base. The Autobots all got out their weapons and rushed through the ground-bridge that opened, leaving Ratchet with the humans and the husk of a Predacon.

They emerged in a canyon and started firing at the beast that was ploughing through the Wreckers like they were cannon fodder. Optimus rushed the beast head on while Bumblebee, Arcee and Smokescreen ran to help their comrades.

The black and yellow scout grabbed Wheeljack's hand and pulled him upright as the others did the same. Vehicons rained red bolts of laser fire down on their position and the six Autobots returned fire.

Bumblebee transformed as quickly as he could into his Chevrolet Urbana 500 vehicle mode and drove towards the drones at the highest speed he could sustain with the terrain he was dealing with. Arcee caught on to what her partner was going to attempt and drew the Deception fire to herself by making it look like she was trying to circle around and get them from behind.

The black and yellow muscle car roared into the air behind the drones and transformed, smashing two red eyed Cybertronian's heads together, effectively offlining them both. Three more fell before the 'Cons realised they were being attacked from behind.

Bumblebee danced around the shots and blasted as many as he he could with his stingers. A true scouts weapon. Killed with as few shots as possible for something so small, fired two shots at once, compact and, in the right hands, could wreak collateral havoc in seconds. The others helped him out and soon, just under half the 'Cons were pushing up lugnuts.

"'Bee! Optimus' got Big Ugly occupied, go for its weak spot!" Bulkhead yelled over the noise of blaster fire.

 **[I'm all over it!]** The scout beeped back and jumped off the canyon wall onto the flying, dragon-like creatures back. He wrapped his arms around its wings at the base and held on while it fell to earth, literally. Once it got back on it's feet, the Predacon lashed Bumblebee off it's back with it's long tail and roared at him angrily.

 **[Oh scrap!]**

The Predacon batted Optimus aside with it's wing when he flew at it with his jetpack and proceed to dismantle the Autobots one by one, starting with Bulk'. Next it blasted Wheeljack into a pile of rubble with a stream off fire, then smacked Smokescreen into the ground despite his tricks with the Phase Shifter and decommissioned Ultra Magnus for the time being.

With a flick of it's tail, the mighty beast swept Arcee's legs from under her and pounced, swinging it's forepaws down to rake open her chest and snuff out her spark. It's swords of claws buried themselves in Bumblebee's back as he shoved his partner aside and took the blow for her.

 **[Argh!]** The youngling scout let out a high, pain filled beep that was his equivalent of a scream. Ripping it's energon stained claws out of Bumblebee's back, the Predacon literally tore the scout apart. His right arm was mangled and shredded beyond repair by the beast's jaws, his legs were blasted off below the knees by dragon fire, the black and yellow doorwings were crushed and ripped off the scout's back. Autobots and Deceptions alike were horrified by the sight of the primal creature devastating the youngling's frame.

None were more torn than Optimus Prime as he watched helplessly as the young one he had raised as his own since he was a sparkling was the beast chew toy.

Eventually the Predacon was finished and flew away back to the Nemesis along with the Vehicons. Back to Megatron who would relish in the carnage the drones would report. The Prime reached for his comlink and called for a ground-bridge as he forced himself over to the youngling's wreaked frame.

"Ratchet emegancy bridge now! Prepare the sickbay for lifesaving surgery! Do not delay, no questions, we need that bridge NOW!"

" _Already opening the bridge and prepping the sickbay._ "

Optimus reached down and lifted his surrogate son in his arms. The Autobots were already getting to their feet so he ran straight through the swirling green vortex, closely followed by Wheeljack, who was the first to recover.

As soon as they were all in the base, chaos reined. Arcee was trying to see her partner, Raf was crying, the bots were crowding round their leader and Miko was rush toward for a better look.

"Ohhhh. What happen 'Bulk? How many 'Cons did you mash?"

Optimus was angry and had enough of the chaos so he snapped.

"ENOUGH! Agent Fowler get the humans out of here and keep them out, Ultra Magnus restrain Arcee immediately and all but Ratchet and Wheeljack GET OUT OF THE ROOM! NOW! BUMBLEBEE IS ON THE VERGE OF OFFLINING!"

The everyone but Ratchet and Ultra Magnus were shocked that the leader of the Autobots would yell so loudly and angrily at them. All Wheeljack, which was the only shocked one who wasn't motionless, said was a low,

"Woah."

Trying to take advantage of her motionless comrades, Arcee rushed forward only to fall on her face due to a leg sweep from the white and red Wrecker. Ultra Magnus bent down and grabbed the two-wheeler by he upper part of her arms, lifted her off the ground and carried her out of the room and barked to the others.

"You heard Optimus, get out of the room soldiers. And natives."

Miko also tried to get a better look but fell on her backside when a large blue pede smashed down a foot in front of her. She looked up to see Optimus, with the wrecked from of his scout in his arms, glaring with anger like nothing any human had ever seen, even from the Deception warlord, Megatron. Smokescreen picked her up and rushed out of the room with a quick,

"Sorry Optimus."

The three left in the room all approached medical berth and the Prime placed Bumblebee's wreckage on it gently. The medic gave him several looks over and scanned him with several devices. Eventually he gave his verdict.

"Bumblebee has sustain irreparable damage to his frame. If the Forge of Solus Prime still had power you could use it to repair his wounds but alas, it has been drained of all energy. Only his servos, left arm, his crushed voicebox, the modulator I put in so he can beep and buzz, his optics and his spark chamber have been left intact. A spark transplant will not do anything to help him."

"Surely there must be some way to save him. There has to be!" Grief filled Optimus' voice for the first time in eons.

"Only one thing would work but we don't possess one of the parts of the procedure. A full mind and spark transfer to another frame."

"We have the Predacon body with no mind!"

"True. But he would be stuck a beast forever for all we know."

"It's better than letting him offline! Even if he would rejoin his original creators when he becomes one with the Allspark." Optimus was shattered and showed it for the first time in forever. "Please Ratchet, I am begging you, do it."

"Very well. I will need to transfer his mind to your neural net with the Cortical Psychic Patch so he will not join the Allspark when I remove his spark to transfer it. Then I will have to swap his spark for the beast's and reattach it in the Predacon body. After that has been done correctly we can upload his mind into the beast's neural network which no conscience was generated during the cloning process so it will be blank."

"Go ahead. Swiftly."

"Alright then. Wheeljack, get the Patch and my other tools." Ratchet ordered, pulling away the wrecked paneling on the back of Bumblebee's helm to uncover his medical port, unaware of what the last Cybertronian ever born was experiencing.

 **Bumblebee**

All Bumblebee could see was darkness. Was this it? Was this what it meant to be one with the Allspark? Because it didn't seem like it.

"I guess I not worthy to become one with the Allspark. This must be oblivion."

A bright dot floated down so it was a short ways away from him. It expanded slowly into a blinding light that would have overloaded his optics, had this been the reality Bumblebee lived in. Unseen by the black and yellow mech, a figure his size appeared in the light, at the very centre.

"Still beating yourself up over what you can't change. You sure you're my brother, 'Bee?"

The figure stepped forward and Bumblebee saw who it was.

"Jazz!"

The glowing white Autobot, Jazz, continued.

"You can't undo what's already been done. The past is in the past, let go of your anger, your regret and your grief. Only then will you become one with the Allspark brother."

"I... Don't know how."

"That was then, this is now."

Bumblebee opened his gates and took his time to come to terms with and accept the suffering and grief he had experienced during his short life. It took a while but he let go of everything and boy, did he feel free.

"I'm ready."

Jazz extended his right servo to his brother.

"Then take my hand. Join me. Join with the Allspark. Primus, you've earned your place with the rest of us, a hundred times over."

'Bee reached out with his hand and just when he was going to touch his brother and join with the Allspark, he felt a force tug him back to the realm of the living. Jazz looked around and saw blue and red cracks breaking up the darkness and the white light.

"I guess it's not your time yet. Live for both of us brother and when your time truly comes, know that I have always loved you. And from the first moment you were sparked, I was proud of you. I always have been and always will be."

 **Autobot base**

Ratchet plugged one end of the patch into Bumblebee's port as quickly as he could without further damage. Optimus plugged his end into his own port and Wheeljack powered up the patch, allowing Optimus to pull his surrogate son into his own neural network. The patch was powered down and the spark transplant began.

First Ratchet and Wheeljack removed the remains of the black yellow chest armour. Then Ratchet opened up Bumblebee's miraculously untouched spark chamber and delicately removed his spark with the utmost care and correct tools. With a nod of the medic's head, Wheeljack triggered the correct sequence on the monitor to open up the Predacon's chest, exposing it's spark chamber. The beast, surprisingly, when compared to the Prime in the room, it was like comparing a horse and the largest human on Earth.

Another typed command opened the chamber and the red and white medic extracted the beast's spark in the same fashion he did with the Autobot scout's. After placing the no longer pulsing, sphere shaped object out of the way Ratchet placed the other loose spark in the chamber and attached it to the energon lines running through out the body so it was like the blue object heart had never been touched and belonged there. The temporary assistant handed the field medic the necessary equipment to start up the spark once again. It only took three tries to bring the whole body online.

Now that the surgery and the immediate threat of Bumblebee offlining was over. The three could relax a little. Ultra Magnus, seeing that the patient was no longer in danger of offlining, walked over to his leader.

"Optimus, I got the others out as you ordered but I was forced to put Arcee in stasis lock manually."

"Thank you Ultra Magnus. You should get back to them now, to supervise."

"Very well. When should they be let back in?"

"I'll let you know when it's safe for them to be in." Ratchet interjected and he readied the Cortical Psychic Patch, but this time plugged the other end into the Predacon with Bumblebee's spark. A minute later and the upload of the scout's mind was complete.

 **Time skip**

When Bumblebee awakened, he was in a cage. How did he get in here? When he tried to rise to his feet, he fell down. He tried again and again but to no avail. He rolled over and looked up at his limbs to see what was causing it.

Only to see that they were clawed feet, all four of them. Bumblebee recognised them and the rest of his body as that of the lifeless Predacon Ratchet had cloned. He had become what hurt his family and destroyed him.

The 'bot in a dragon's body forced himself to to his feet and smashed through the cage and the tarpaulin covering it, setting off an alarm which alerted the Autobots to his escape. The doors of the army hanger that was the base were closing but he made it through before they closed.

The new Predacon burst out into the night air and yelled,

"NOOOOOOO!"

But all that came out was a deafening roar.

He was a monster.


	2. A Cursed Life

Being hidden and contained was really starting to bother Bumblebee now. It wasn't the cage, that he could understand. It was the fact that no one but Optimus, Ratchet, Wheeljack and Ultra Magnus knew had seen him like this since he had become the monster he considered himself to be.

Despite the other three pitying the Autobot in a beast's body, Ultra Magnus looked at the formerly black and yellow mech like vermin, the way Scraplets were treated on Cybertron. It almost made Bumblebee empathise with the little critters. Almost.

Outside of the cage, which had been repaired and covered with a new tarp, the old one was on the floor as a blanket, Optimus and Ratchet were trying to gently break the news to the other 'Bots.

"C'mon doc, let us see 'Bee already. You hiding him around here somewhere?" Smokescreen joked, unknowing of how close his joke was to the truth. Raf was looking around as if expecting Bumblebee to pop up out of nowhere as scare them.

"Perhaps it would be easier to show them Ratchet." Optimus spoke evenly but was anxious about the reactions of the others. The old frame of the Autobot scout had been placed carefully in a storage crate. Or at least, what remained of it.

Ratchet agreed silently and walked over to the covered cage. He took hold of the grey sheet and pulled, uncovering the seemingly asleep Predacon.

"Yeah, we've all seen Big Ugly junior, what's the deal?" The blue and gold mech questioned. What happened next made Smokescreen fall on his aft.

Optimus opened the cage and reached out his servo in what looked to the humans like a stop hand gesture. The yellow eyed beast rose semi-steadily to its pedes, prowled haltingly over to him and nuzzled his forehead against it.

"So let me get this straight. You taught Beast Little to act like a dog?" Bulkhead inquired. Ratchet sighed and explained.

"No, I transferred Bumblebee's mind from his dying frame to that of the beast's using Optimus's Neural Network as a temporary vessel while I transplanted his miraculously untouched spark to the spark chamber of the Predacon, removing the spark occupying it, so he would keep his memories when he was uploaded into the blank processor. He is now a Predacon, whether he likes it or not."

"I'm still an Autobot, no matter what frame I live in." Bumblebee tried to say it it came out as growls and quiet, dull roars. Despite the fact he was a beast, Optimus could understand his snarls, Raf however, could not.

"He did not mean you are not an Autobot anymore, young one. Ratchet was only saying you inhabit the body of a Predacon."

"You... Understood that?" Jack was bewildered, as was everyone else.

"As I told you before, the Matrix of Leadership grants me the collective wisdom of the Primes that proceeded me. That includes the knowledge of Amalgamous Prime, the creator of Predacons. Thus I can understand some of their form of speaking. The one that serves Megatron said he was hunting when we fought."

Miko's jaw dropped and she said one thing.

"Mind... Blown."

Bulkhead groaned at the ignorance of his charge. Raf timidly approached Bumblebee, keeping to a safe distance.

"Um... Hi 'Bee."

The dragon-like technorganic lowered his head so it was eye level with the 12 year old. The yellow eyes softened and conveyed the message he tried to say.

"It's me Raf. Don't be afraid."

Raf ran over and hugged the snout of his guardian. Arcee, however, was not convinced. Losing two partners had made her very cautious.

"Ratchet, if dragon boy is 'Bee, prove it."

"Very well." The field medic complied and called up the video footage of the surgery and the whole room watched it. If the video wasn't enough, Ratchet wheeled over the crate and opened it up to reveal Bumblebee's dead frame.

While they were watching the surgery video, Bumblebee picked up the Patch and an adapter that would allow the neural connecter to show memories on the monitor in his mouth and carried them over. All it took was a growled message to the Prime and he was hooked up the monitor.

Bumblebee called up the memory of his near death experience for the others to watch.

 _"I guess I not worthy to become one with the Allspark. This must be oblivion."_

 _A bright dot floated down so it was a short ways away from him. It expanded slowly into a blinding light that would have overloaded his optics, had this been the reality Bumblebee lived in. Unseen by the black and yellow mech, a figure his size appeared in the light, at the very centre._

 _"Still beating yourself up over what you can't change. You sure you're my brother, 'Bee?"_

 _The figure stepped forward and Bumblebee saw who it was._

 _"Jazz!"_

 _The glowing white Autobot, Jazz, continued._

 _"You can't undo what's already been done. The past is in the past, let go of your anger, your regret and your grief. Only then will you become one with the Allspark brother."_

 _"I... Don't know how."_

 _"That was then, this is now."_

A skip to the next relevant occurrence of what happened and it continued.

 _"I'm ready."_

 _Jazz extended his right servo to his brother._

 _"Then take my hand. Join me. Join with the Allspark. Primus, you've earned your place with the rest of us, a hundred times over."_

 _'Bee reached out with his hand and just when he was going to touch his brother and join with the Allspark, he felt a force tug him back to the realm of the living. Jazz looked around and saw blue and red cracks breaking up the darkness and the white light._

 _"I guess it's not your time yet."_

He ended the memory then before the personal stuff came on. The beastbot didn't feel comfortable showing that to Ultra Magnus and the others.

"Proof enough Arcee?" Ratchet asked. She nodded and the day went on. When Fowler and Jack's mother arrived, Bumblebee went back in the cage and the cover was pulled over again.

The days passed slowly, each one dragging on longer than the one before. Bumblebee spent his time curled up on the tarp blanket in his cage. When no one was around outside, the Autobot beast worked on his motor control, improving his control over the frame that was so unnatural to him. Everything worked differently. The wings stemming from his back felt like his doorwings on his previous frame but he could control their movement, as much as was possible in his cage, much better.

Ratchet, Raf and Optimus visited him everyday, the medic to check up on him. Optimus also made a promise that he swore upon the Allspark, the most serious of oaths and, the most binding.

"No matter the means, regardless of what I must do to help you young one, I will find a way for the others to understand you. I am the only one at present who can understand you but one day, everyone will. Humans say actions speak louder than words. I believe they are right, and your actions have spoken the truth of you. You are a true Autobot, worthy to be a Prime.

"I swear, by and upon the Allspark, that we will find a way to make you like us once again. No matter where I must seek the answers from."

Once he was left alone again, Bumblebee reflected on that promise.

'Try as I might, I have never fully fitted in anywhere. Optimus, you've tried your best to get others to accept me. But even though you try, I can never be like the rest, I never will be. It's one of those things no one can change. I shall always be the different 'bot, the odd one out, the outcast.'

If he was honest, Bumblebee didn't think Optimus would be able to make his vow a reality.

In the outside world, the field medic and the Prime were trying to think of a way to let the youngling roam without hurting anyone by accident or damaging the base.

"Ratchet do you remember the time Jazz put Phase Displacement Armor we took from the Deceptions on before it was destroyed and spent a quintun phasing through everything?" Optimus asked.

"Yes, what's your point?"

"Would it be possible for you reverse-engineer a workable version for Bumblebee so he can roam freely?"

The red and white medic thought about it for a few minutes then replied, "It's possible, but how would we apply it to our young, enviably former, scout?"

"Perhaps a collar of sorts would work. After all, he now resides within a beast's body and has begun to take on some of the host characteristics."

Over the next week the medic worked tirelessly to build the design on the 3D hologram blueprints projected in front of him and from studying the Phase Shifter. Several times, Miko interrupted his work. Jack of Bulkhead had to pull her away so the medic could work. When Ratchet got extremely frustrated, Raf piped up.

"Can I help?"

The ambulance had a soft spot for the youngest of the humans. Half reluctantly, he let the 12 year old help.

"Yes. Just, please, do what I say and nothing else."

"Okay." Raf was elated that he could have something to do other than sitting around, removing Cybertronian sightings off the web and visiting his guardian who was stuck as a dragon creature.

"I am trying to create a collar version of the Phase Shifter for Bumblebee but the parts I have to work with, while workable, are so delicate to my big hands."

"I can help with that. Just tell me what goes where and how to do it properly and I'll sort out those bits you're having trouble with."

And thus over the next few days the two tech geniuses worked side by side. At the end of those days, the phasing part of the collar was done. The collar itself was hard.

"The trouble is, the materials are either to weak or they don't work with the phase core." Raf told the medic, who was presently his temporary guardian.

"Hmm. Of course! How could I have been so oblivious?" The medically officer exclaimed in a bout of realisation.

"Oblivious to what, Ratchet?" Raf questioned. He was now confused.

"When Wheeljack foolishly took Miko with him and the other Wreckers before he left, she came back with the Apex Armor. It extends and expands to fit the wearer and it is impervious to any and all attacks."

"Which in turn you could use to make the collar. But what are you going to make the replica out of?"

"Why would we make a replica out of something that could break when, with Optimus's help, the armour could be altered to fit a beast."

"Okay I get the using the original thing but how can Optimus help alter the armour?" Raf was getting into things way out of his league yet he tried as hard as he could to keep up.

"Optimus said it himself. The Matrix of Leadership gives him the knowledge of the Original Thirteen, the Primes that preceded him. This includes the knowledge of Solus Prime, the one who created the relics for the others to use."

"So he knows how to change the settings on it?" Raf threw his conclusion to the Autobot.

"Precisely."

After getting the Prime to alter the Apex Armour, they combined it with the phase core that was to let the beastbot roam free and some other functions. When they were finished, Optimus put the collar on Bumblebee, who at first didn't like the idea since it made him feel like a pet but agreed.

An alert popped up on the monitor screen and the team was sent to investigate while Bumblbee got the hang of using his new collar. In no time he was phasing through anything in sight. Another plus was that Smokescreen couldn't go intangible to escape after pranking him anymore, not now that he could cancel out the little jokers phase shifting with his own. When the Autobots returned, they came back with a hostage.

It was Soundwave.


	3. A New Soul From The Ashes Of Destruction

The others were listening to Ratchet reporting an energon alert when Bumblebee woke from his latest 'nightmare' as Raf called them. The human had come to him what seemed like years ago one night when the humans slept over at the base and the scout had comforted him. The former muscle car had been haunted by nightmares as long as he could remember. At first he had always run to Optimus' quarters if Jazz wasn't around where the kind leader would help him calm down and even would watch over him as he recharged, no matter what his subordinates thought. That had ceased to happen after the war had escalated to a higher form and he was left to confide in his brother who would always make time for him.

Jazz always put Bumblebee before everything, including missions which frustrated Ultra Magnus and Prowl to no end. They always berated him and told the two to be like the others. That usually lead to the older scout shooting them in the face, either with a smart-aft retort, insulting backchat or literally shooting them on a low but painful setting Jazz reserved for them.

His latest nightmare was a combination of the traumatic events that made up Bumblebee's life. Him and his brother being hidden by their mother in a stalactite in a cave before she was caught trying to lead Starscream away and had her spark chamber clawed open and the blue orb wing destroyed as the seeker ranted about how Megatron would have his hide. The invasion and subsequent destruction of the Youth Centre, leaving the youngling and his sparkling younger brother the only ones alive because they hid. The countless deaths of comrades. The events of Tiger Pax where Bumblebee's voicebox was crushed by Megatron himself when he refused to talk. The slaughter the pair were witness to as they were placed in a long range transport pod and launched, headed for earth. The brutal offlinings of Air Raid, Warpath and Skyblast five years later as the Deception warlord followed Optimus Prime to earth.

The one that tore him the most was the death of his brother who sacrificed himself for everyone else. Megatron literally ripped him in two.

 _Flashback_

 _"Get out of here guys, I'll try to slow down bucket head." Jazz told the others as he drove towards the attacking warmonger in his sports car than he and his brother shared the vehicle mode of._

 _"Jazz, no!" Optimus called to him but it was too late._

 _Megatron transformed and flew at the silver mech who just transformed himself out of car mode and pulled his Crescent Cannon out his back. The grey Cybertronian jet reverted one of his arms to grab the smaller mech and threw him onto a natural rock pillar. Fully reverting, the Deception warlord landed with one foot on the Pontiac Solstice. The red eyed transformer grabbed the older scout by the pede and held him upside as he struck him across the face with the back of his servo._

 _"You want a piece of me? YOU WANT A PIECE!?" Jazz got off three shots in a row before he was stopped._

 _"No. I want TWO!" Megatron growled just loud enough for the yellow scout to head as he grabbed Jazz's arm and ripped him in half at his waist._

 _ **[JAZZ!]**_ _Bumblebee's beep was as high as a scream as he watched the mech who had caused him so much pain already throw the two pieces into the desert sand an flew off back his warship. As soon as the weapon of his brother hit the ground 'Bee was at his brothers side. He was offline. Permanently._

 _Flashback end_

Bumblebee activated the Phase Core in his collar by pressing the touch sensitive button with his claw and phased through his cage. He approached the Autobot leader and, after a short argument, was allowed to accompany the team on the condition that he would not engage Deceptions but would hide with his phasing ability and would scout only, not do anything dangerous unless he had no other choice.

The beastbot waited as Optimus requested that the Vehicons surrender the energon crystals that were loaded in the hover trolleys. A short, one sided battle took place and all the drones were scrapped. Arcee and Ratchet, who came through the portal to help since Bumblebee was no long able, organised the energon and got it ready for transport via Groundbridge and the Wreakers plus Smokescreen were told to search the cave systems for anything that might be there.

Bumblebee decided now was the best time to pull his ultimate weapon on Optimus. The Adorable Sparkling Eyes. After looking at the face his, at present, former scout the leader grudgingly made another compromise.

"Alright little one, you win... Again. You can go with the Wreakers. Just don't get killed."

"Yay!" It may have been just a growl but the Autobot Predacon sounded like a youngling who had just been promised a big cube of energon candy if he behaved.

The group of five entered the mine and began to search for anything and everything that was there. When they reached a crossroads, so to speak, they split into groups. Bulkhead and Smokescreen went down the left tunnel and Ultra Magnus, Wheeljack and 'Bee went down the right. The bot in a beast's body kept his distance from the uptight commander but was neutral to the demolitions expert as he always had been. The trio walked into a well lit cavern.

Walking right into the cloning operation of Shockwave.

The two wreckers wandered down the middle of the two rows of tanks with beasts in while Bumblebee phased through the nearest wall with his collar and went around to the side.

It took a few moments but the purple cyclops noticed the pair and fired upon them with his cannon. The two Autobots against Shockwave, distracting him, gave 'Bee the opportunity to look at what was going on. There were Predacons in the tanks, suspended in a yellow liquid. Probably some kind of cultivator with what was inside of them.

The beasts themselves, that were in stasis by the looks, were always different from the previous one. There was one that looked like an eagle with four legs, a lizard with blade-like wings and many other forms. Shockwave typed a sequence into his workstation keyboard and volts of power were conducted overhead through thick cables into the tanks, jumpstarting the beasts' sparks and bringing them online.

The yellow liquid seeped out of the bottom of the tanks slowly and the levels of it fell in synchronisation while the Deception scientist slipped away in a green portal generated by whoever controlled the bridges now that Soundwave was a captive of the 'Bots. As soon as its level was below the beasts' head, their optics ignited in a yellow glow.

"Permission to employ a grenade in a confined space Sir?" Wheeljack requested of the red and blue commander.

"If we are the only thing standing between these Predacons and the natives of this planet, by all means soldier. Blow these beasts back to the Rust Age!" Ultra Magnus consented and the white Wrecker threw his grenade, which rolled over to the crates of glowing green, synthetic energon. The two transformed and drove fast away from the imminent detonation while Bumblebee phased completely into the wall since his head had been out of it to observe the lab.

The explosion was so powerful it rock the foundations of the cave, creating a small earthquake, and blasted a further ten metres in every direction. Thus, Bumblebee was caught in the backlash of the detonation. Synthetic energon that hadn't been detonated slashed all over his frame and as what survived of the other Predacons flew his way, they attached themselves to him and bonded to his armour.

The beastbot hit the ground. Hard. When he rose, his memory was gone and his collar retracted into a subspace.

Who am I? Where did I come from? Why am I here? The Predacon asked himself these questions. A whine attracted his attention. In a container of sorts was a sparkling of his kind. He himself was only seven times as big. Carefully he broke away the rest of the container and lifted the little one out.

It was ice blue with soft yellow optics and had five horns, one like an rhino's, the others protruded from the back of its head. It's wings were reminiscent of a birds but stemmed from the back not the sides. The colour of it's armour combined with the way it looked made the baby look like an ice sculpture. More defining features were, it was cute as hell it looked more feminine than the others and wouldn't be quiet.

A shower of boulders fell from above and the beast protected it's own by shielding the baby with his own body. Without warning or him doing anything, his chest opened up and the little one crawled inside. The armour resealed after the sparkling was inside. He could still feel it in there, curling up. The chaotic metal that caged him resembled jagged spikes intersecting.

Time dragged on. At one point he heard the sounds of battle. Hours later he heard something approaching but couldn't raise his neck to see it. A emotionless voice spoke a short while later.

"Lord Megaton. It its true. Project Predacon is null and void. I have not been able to recover the beasts. However there is some things you must behold for yourself. It would be logical to bring the Predacon with you, my liege."

Megatron. Why was that word somehow familiar to him? A burst of green light later and three forms approached.

"Shockwave, what are these thing I must behold for myself? And I do hope they have some merit." A voice spoke that sent shivers down his spinal column. An evil voice.

"This mess is made of pure cybermatter my liege. And if you look within, there is the other thing I spoke of."

"One survived? Yet why does it look like it had a armour outplant?"

"My hypothesis is that the explosion that created the cybermatter fused the parts that remained of the other to this one that was logically furthest away from the explosion. A natural armour outplant, if you will Lord Megatron."

A growl emanated from the 'Predacon' Whatever that was and it started to break the cybermatter cage apart to reach his surviving brother. A few minutes of biting and slashing with fangs and claws later and the other Predacon reached his brother that lay in the centre of the chaotic construct and picked him up in his mouth to carry him out of the mess.

Now he saw what a 'Predacon' was. It was his species! Well that was enlightening. Megatron ordered the one called 'Shockwave' to do something or other and lead the other of his species that was carrying him up to what he called a warship. There were so many things he didn't understand. The Predacons were bridged up to the upper hull where someone called Starscream was waiting to 'train' him.

He was shouted and screeched at by Starscream who kept yelling orders at him and striking him with a prod that hurt a lot. He turned his head to the resident beast and asked,

:Why does he tell me to do things I don't want to? And why does he hurt me when I don't?:

:He, like Megatron, the leader of the Deceptions on this warship that are his followers, believes us to be mindless beasts. Thus they tries to command us to do their bidding. Just go along with it, I shall explain everything I can later.:

"I have had enough of your insolence! Shoot a fireball at that target now!" Starscream yelled and buzzed him with the prod again.

:You're one to talk about insolence!: he snapped back but fired anyway. After a few more hours of 'training', the grey seeker left. Megatron, Knockout and Shockwave arrived just before the S.I.C left and the two respective medical and scientific experts did a few tests.

"Your verdict, Shockwave?" Megatron inquired.

"The beast that survived the explosion has been permanently bonded with the extra parts. It is running low on energon and exhausted far beyond it's limits, no doubt due to Starscream's abusive training. Like the other, it is male. The extra parts might grant the Predacon a stronger armour but they should be tidied up."

"And your medical opinion Knockout?

"I concur with Shockwave, my liege. The Predacon is, as he said, suffering energon deficiency. I would proscribe a weeks rest, plenty of energon to refuel him and not to receive 'training' from Starscream ever again. Have the drone that attends to the other one do that same for him. His extra parts ought to be tidied up but we should wait until the poor beast has recovered. Let his predecessor teach him. All due respect Lord Megatron but you saw how protective it was when it freed him of the cage created by the explosion.

"Also the new Predacon isn't fully grown. He should grow over time." Knockout stated.

"Very well. We shall leave the beasts to get acquainted."

The trio left and the Predacons talked.

:Alright, screaming and the other Decepticons are gone. Explain please.: he growled softly.

:Very well my name is Predaking...: Predaking would have continued but he was interrupted.

:What's a name?:

:A name is something we call each other. It makes us unique. Don't you have one?:

:No. Do I need one?:

:Yes, you do. How about... Firewing?:

:That good. I think I'll take it. Brother.:

:Firewing it is then, little brother.:

:As I was saying, my name is Predaking and we are Predacons. We were created by Megatron's scientist, Shockwave, in a laboratory. I was created first and then after I started fetching bones of ancient Predacons before me here on earth, Shockwave started cloning your generation. Did any others survive the explosion down there? I must know!:

:Only one other, a sparkling. It crawled inside my chest when it opened.:

:May I see it?: Predaking asked, glad that at least one other survived.

:Certainly: The younger Predacon recalled the feeling that he felt when his armour opened and it happened again. The ice blue sparkling crawled out. It padded around them until it was picked up carefully by the eldest Predacon who examined it in what looked like a fatherly way.

:It's a fem. She is a cute little one. We cannot show her to the Decepticons, they would make her into a science experiment or worse, a weapon.:

:Agreed.:

:Hide her. Keep her safe, whatever it takes to keep her from Megatron's evil claws. That is what we must do. When the time was right, I had planned to flee the Decepticons and find a safe place to live the rest of my life. Now we must do the same but protect the little one at all costs.:

The baby Predacon decided she'd had enough of exploring for one day and crawled back into his spark chamber. The newly named Firewing closed his chest and curled up to recharge.

After he had recovered, Firewing had his parts tidied up so he looked just like his original form but a bit bulkier. He was then taught to survive by Predaking, how to breath his furious dragon fire and how to fly properly. It turned out he had been doing it wrong the whole time.

When no one else was around, the two worked on their own ability to exceed what Megatron expected so, when they turned on the Decepticons, they would have the upper claw. One day Predaking made an enormous breakthrough. By watching Vehicons transform, he reverse learned what he saw in short glimpses until he had made the great leap.

Predaking could transform.

His bipedal mode was taller, stronger and superior to other Cybertronians in every way in the circumstances of a battle. It's torso and lower legs were the most armoured regions of his body. The rest of him was armoured well too. Predaking still had the yellow glowing part on his chest, as well as the Predacon symbol just above it. His claws were still sharp enough to rake through average armour in one strong strike and the thumb digit's claw was golden, like it was as a beast. He had a series of horns on his head and the big ones that were on his head in beast mode were on his shoulder pads and coming out slightly more to the side than his wings that were folded and stemming from his back and angled towards the ground. The beast king's optics still blazed the feral yellow they had always been.

It took longer for Firewing to achieve bipedal form but he made the leap as his fellow beast did in a matter of days after his predecessor. His mech body was more or less the same as Predaking's but he could fold his wings into his back so they weren't a hindrance to him. He also lacked the gold claw on each servo and the beast horn protruding from his back. The spikes on his shoulder pads were shorter and so were the horns on his head.

The time for him and Predaking to be commanded into battle with the Decepticons foes, the Autobots, by Megatron who, like ever other Cybertronian alive, thought them to be mindless beasts made to do his bidding. A Groundbridge opened in front of Megatron, the two Predacons and their escort of Vehicons, flyers and grounders alike, and the blood red eyed leader strode through. He was closely followed by the others, Vehicon grounders overtaking the beasts in the vortex.

"Optimus. What a surprise. Come to preach about freedom and equality like you did to the council?"

"Enough talk Megatron. I will no longer tolerate your fighting banter." The big blue and red Autobot snapped.

"Because my beast ripped apart your scout? While you may have destroyed the others in Shockwave's lab, contrary to your deductions, one survived. Meet my _two_ pets."

Predaking prowled out of the portal and roared. He was followed by the flyer Vehicons that shot overhead in their Cybertronian jet forms and finally, the younger Predacon.

Gasps sounded amongst the Autobot ranks as they beheld Firewing, the beast that rose from the ashes of destruction. One word was heard from Optimus Prime.

"Impossible."


	4. Face The One Who Has Turned

Megatron cackled as Optimus was speechless. Firewing felt something strange. He _knew_ this mech. So why didn't he remember him? It was like the memories that kept stirring were taunting him, just out of reach. He had experienced flashes during recharge, they seemed important, but he didn't know how.

He saw a silver mech with _blue_ optics cradling him, not red like Megatron's. A blue and pink femme working with him in battle. Another femme of a quite similar build, completely pink, raising him. They were so foreign yet the flashes were familiar somehow.

That was irrelevant now. The Autobots were his enemies now, he had to fight them. Fight them, not destroy them. He wouldn't be able to take out the leader anyway, Predaking himself struggled and was on equal ground with the large red and blue one.

Predaking bounded toward at the Autobots and Firewing took flight, a pincer attack. The bigger of the two beast attacked Optimus head on, snapping at him and clawing all around. The smaller Predacon rained dragon fire from above. The Vehicons fired at the remaining Autobots with rapid shots, most of which missed the mark. Predaking noticed that the big green one and the blue and gold one were missing.

'Most likely back their base.'

Firewing was getting tired, he'd been shooting fire at the Autobots for a while and he was reaching his shot limit. He only had three shots left and he had to make them count. He dived, spreading his wings and when he had nearly reached the snow covered, Antarctic ground, the Predacon angled himself so he was gliding a few feet from the ice on which the others fought as Megatron watched.

As he passed the blue and red Autobot with only one hand, courtesy of Predaking in a bout of rage, Firewing launched his assault.

'Thirteen.' He thought as the blast hit the Prime in the back. He only had two shots and he would be out of fire. His next one was fired at the white mech with the swords as the Predacon curved away from the explosion of the previous. It hit the Wrecker in the legs and took him off his feet. Once again he curved around the explosion, using the air displacement to boost his flight power.

'Fourteen.'

The last was charged to full capacity then launched at the one referred to as Ultra Magnus. It struck him in the chest and partially buried him in the icy ground, out of the count.

'Fifteen.'

Having reached his shot limit, Firewing landed and charged the last Autobot. She was scrapping Vehicons left and right with arm blades and blasters. He bounded at her at full speed, smashing drones out his way. He was a 'mindless beast' wasn't he? Megatron would pin his actions on that.

The blue and pink femme saw him and froze. It was like they recognised each other but one of them couldn't remember. The beast didn't remember.

They clashed, Arcee on the defensive. Firewing bit and clawed at her but she was agile enough to dodge his swift strikes. In a powerful leap, the younger Predacon pinned the smallest Autobot. However, one sentence was enough to frighten him.

"'Bee, what happened to you?"

He reared up and backed away as fast as he could. He kept growling to warn her away. Images popped up in his mind. A mission to fight Predaking when he was still a regular Cybertronian, he'd been ripped to shreds. An incomplete journey to the Allspark. A cage. A venture outside of the base on a mission that lead to Shockwave's laboratory where a devastating explosion robbed him of his memories. Most important, the name: Bumblebee.

Predaking disengaged the Prime and rushed to his fellow Predacon, who held the future of the Predacon race in his chest, leaving Optimus to interpret the pained growls. He was able to translate it roughly.

:The pain! Make it stop! Get these memories out of my head! I'm not an Autobot, I'm Firewing! I don't need need the memories of a weakling in my head!:

The leader was struck dumb by the words he heard from his surrogate son. How could he say that? How could he deny what he was.

During the fighting Megatron had approached the green portal that came from the Autobot base. A figure came out of it, dragging another.

"Welcome back... Soundwave. I see Laserbeak was able to bring you back online."

All the Autobots stopped in their tracks when they saw their medic in the clutches of the Decepticon Communications Officer, one of the rumoured Silent Three that was consisting of Soundwave, Shockwave and Bumblebee.

Another portal opened as the Autobot one closed, from the Decepticon warship this time. Soundwave dragged Ratchet through it and Megatron followed just before it closed, leave the remaining Vehicons and Predacons to face the four Autobots.

The drones were scrap metal in minutes due to the double rapid fire of an enraged Optimus Prime. Calming down, he put away his weapons, retracted his battle mask, and approached the Predacons. Firewing snarled, recovered from his metal agony enough to be aware of his surroundings once again. Speaking softly yet purposefully, Optimus walked fearlessly toward the smaller beast.

"Young one, whatever I have done to wrong you, whatever I have done to lead you to do this, I am truly sorry. But the humans are innocent. Taking their lives will gain you nothing..."

Firewing called on his recently replenished dragon fire that lit up his mouth and throat, ready to fire, as he snarled again.

"... So take mine... And end this."

The fire in the Predacon's mouth died and he closed it. The dragon-like beast turned away and began to prowl in the opposite direction.

A spiked tail swung into Optimus' chest as Firewing dealt him a vicious blow that hurled him a great distance into the glacier behind the human research centre that Shockwave and some troops were stealing some technology needed to rebuild some 'Omega Lock' that the beasts overheard about.

Energon leaked from the gashes in the Prime's chest as the Predacons took flight. Firewing said one last thing to the Autobot leader before he flew of with his brother.

:I am Firewing, beast-bot, cloned from the remains of mighty Predacon Legions that preceded me and my brother. Bumblebee was puny, weak, pathetic. He was too naive, too trusting. And look where it got him. Dead!:

Then they flew off, but not before Wheeljack threw a tracker dot that magnetised to the underside of Firewing's tail. The Autobot leader had to be pulled from the ice that he was stuck in. It took a while but Raf opened a Groundbridge and the four 'Bots stumbled through.

"What happened?" Jack asked. The answer he got from Optimus was nothing like he was expecting.

"There is not kind way to put it. Bumblebee lives and has joined the Decepticons."

"What!" Raf yelled, disbelieving. "He would never!"

"Apparently he lost his memories in the explosion. He goes by the name Firewing and fought like just like the other Predacon did."

Optimus showed them the battle on the monitor from his point of view while Wheeljack patched him up.

 _"Impossible."_

 _Megatron cackled as Optimus was speechless._

 _The original Predacon bounded toward at the Autobots and Firewing took flight, a pincer attack. The bigger of the two beast attacked Optimus head on, snapping at him and clawing all around. The smaller Predacon rained dragon fire from above. The Vehicons fired at the remaining Autobots with rapid shots, most of which missed the mark._

 _Bumblebee dived, spreading his wings and when he had nearly reached the snow covered, Antarctic ground, the Predacon angled himself so he was gliding a few feet from the ice on which the others fought as Megatron watched._

 _As he passed the blue and red Autobot with only one hand, courtesy of the other beast in a bout of rage, Bumblebee launched his assault. The blast hit the Prime in the back._

The video went on and the humans and the two Autobots that were in the base when Soundwave broke out and took Ratchet were shock as the witnesses were at the time. The last part was beyond horrific for Raf, who Optimus had taken temporary guardianship of.

 _"Young one, whatever I have done to wrong you, whatever I have done to lead you to do this, I am truly sorry. But the humans are innocent. Taking their lives will gain you nothing..."_

 _Bumblebee called on his dragon fire that lit up his mouth and throat, ready to fire, as he snarled again._

 _"... So take mine... And end this."_

 _The fire in the Predacon's mouth died and he closed it. The dragon-like beast turned away and began to prowl in the opposite direction._

 _A spiked tail swung into Optimus' chest as Firewing dealt him a vicious blow that hurled him a great distance into the glacier behind the human research centre. Energon leaked from the gashes in the Prime's chest as the Predacons took flight. Bumblebee said one last thing to the Autobot leader before he flew of with his brother._

 _:I am Firewing, beast-bot, cloned from the remains of mighty Predacon Legions that preceded me and my brother. Bumblebee was puny, weak, pathetic. He was too naive, too trusting. And look where it got him. Dead!:_

The youngest human broke down crying at the speech at the end. It was too much for him, so he did the only thing he could in the situation. He passed out in Optimus' hand.

On the Nemesis, Ratchet was being forced to complete his synthetic energon formula, which thankfully for him was very hard and would take a long time.

The Predacons were getting the hang of their bipedal modes while they were alone after a conversation with Soundwave. The CO was a telepath and sympathised with them and would aid them when the time came. He understood what it was like to be left around until he was needed and felt betrayed when Megatron only briefly congratulated him after he recovered the Resonance Blaster in battle. He had kept it for the moment of revenge for a long time.

Soundwave had begun to doubt Megatron when he had crushed Bumblebee's voice box and he ran into him after the event of Tiger Pax. He had let the scout go but not without a short glimpse into his mind. He had discovered that Firewing used to be Bumblebee in a few minutes of meeting him. He had also tried to get him to come to terms with who he was. The data tap didn't have much success there.

The beast worked tirelessly to better their abilities as the time for revolution came.

 **AN: What at did you think? Review please, it really helps me improve the standard of my writing and I like to have honest feedback so I know what I've done right and what I haven't.**


	5. Omega

Days blurred together as the Predacons waited for their chance of escape. Megatron was becoming more and more impatient for the reconstruction of the Omega Lock. Firewing and Predaking had learnt to transform their arms into weapons. They had only managed this through Firewing probing into his memories of being the Autobot, Bumblebee. After that he had simply mimicked it and shown Predaking how to do it.

Soundwave had worked to restore the lost memories that were locked away by the explosion in Shockwave's lab. He managed to unlock the important ones but the others were still suppressed, there was only so much Soundwave's telepathy could do.

He had also broken through the base limitations on the Cybertronian body, by extension, Predacons too, and made it possible to use their transformation powers in the ultimate form. Subatomic transformation. The ability to restructure their body completely, even beyond the atoms that made up their bodies.

Unfortunately, Soundwave could only make this breakthrough with Firewing, Predaking's body was fully mature and it's atomic code was too strong to break. He refused to use the ability even if Soundwave had unlocked it.

The day came when the Decepticons were attacked by the Autobots who had found the warship. They stormed it and the Second Battle for Omega Lock began. Arcee and Smokescreen were one group and Optimus was engaging the turrets and flyers outside in space. The Wreckers, lead by Ultra Magnus, stormed the bridge and confronted the forces there.

Soundwave was unlocking every door and access port on the Nemesis to make the Autobot takeover easier when the trio burst into the bridge. He turned around and the groundbridge control display lit up his visor.

All the charging Vehicons, which just happened to be all of the flyers on the bridge, were intercepted by green portals that sent them to the prison level and more glowing bridges opened under the other Deception troops sending them to the flight deck, which was locked down now that the Autobot team was inside. Soundwave himself transformed and jetted down the corridors.

The Predacons bounded separately round the ship in their beast modes but Firewing had a mission to do before he joined the fight. He ran into Soundwave's quarters and extracted the blue femme sparkling, which he had named Sapphire, from his spark chamber. She had grown a little but was still manageable for now. Firewing lifted her gently in his mouth and put her in the locker that had a thermal-blanket in it which he dragged over his little Sapphire and closed the door and locked it on her. A squadron of Decepticons charged down the corridor when Firewing exited the quarters.

His furious dragon fire roared into life and torched the group, melting armour and setting fire to energon. The Vehicons screamed and pleaded but the beast was relentless. His resolve was absolute. The raging firestorm died and Firewing transformed.

"Please! Don't kill me!"

One was still alive. Firewing transformed his right arm into a weapon and aimed it at the last one alive. His arm cannon was a round cylinder that replaced his hand from mid-forearm with three razor sharp blades that extended beyond the barrel of the cannon at regular intervals around it.

"Go now to your rest."

His new voice was firm yet deeper than the average Cybertronian's and was filled with power and demanded respect like Predaking's.

A single shot not unlike his dragon fire ended the suffering of the Vehicon in an instant. Transforming again, Firewing sprinted down the corridor to the real fight. Legions of Vehicon troopers marched towards his fiery wrath but none were spared. Fire and claws were all that awaited them. Death.

Firewing bite down hard, snapping a trooper in half, as more fired lasers bolts at him. Claws raked through them like swords, teeth impaled them like knives, fire melted and scorched like the hands of hell. Firewing smashed the ones that avoided the frontal attacks with his wings and spiked tail. He was death, death to them all!

Finally, he reached the Omega Lock where the main battle was in full flow. Optimus and Megatron exchanged powerful blows and attacks of all kinds, Ratchet was out of the fight due to injury and Arcee and Smokescreen were trying to get past Shockwave with the Starsaber.

Said blade flew up in the air and fell back down, going toward the clawed hand of the Decepticon scientist. Anger fueled the blast that smashed into the purple mech's chest. Charging before the fire had left his mouth, Firewing leapt into the air and reached for the weapon of the Primes.

When his claws closed around the hilt of the Starsaber, Firewing had transformed into his bipedal mode and landed with one foot on Shockwave's face, hard, smashing his head into the ground and cracking the lense that covered his one optic. The last parts of his armour locked into place as he stepped off, onto the deck.

A gasp from behind drew his attention to the one called Arcee

"Who are you?"

"I am Firewing." He replied. "And I am here to put an end to Megatron's schemes, Arcee."

Apparently the fact he remembered her name was enough to make her back off so he ran to the edge of the platform and dropped down to the nearest ledge on the structure that supported the Lock. He hefted the sword easily as he proceeded.

"Prime!"

Firewing called and leapt in faith that he would not fail. He couldn't. Sapphire was depending on him.

Both leaders looked up at the defending figure, both recognising the weapon in his grasp.

"The Starsaber!" Megatron exclaimed. He smashed Optimus aside and fired his fusion cannon as rapidly as he could, just as Predaking arrived.

The first shot hit Firewing's chest and stung a lot but didn't do much to stop him. The second made cracks appear all over his chest armour. The third broke through his armour and the Predacon began to see his short life pass before his optics. Awakening in the cave, lost and alone. Rescuing Sapphire. Meeting Predaking. Fighting the Autobots. The fourth shot hit and decimated his chest, pain going to impossible levels.

"Soundwave: Defect."

Though the now former Decepticon's intervention was well timed, the fourth shot was enough to finish the job. To kill the /span/p

Firewing fell back, Starsaber in hand, into the cybermatter pool that was the Omega Lock, dieing fast.

He could hear faint screaming and rage filled roars but even they faded. All that was is gone now. He failed everyone. He failed Sapphire./span/p

"NOOOOO!"

Predaking and Optimus roared and both charged Megatron. The beast in bipedal mode nailed the warlord in the face with his clawed fist then the Prime shoulder rammed him into one of the pillars that held the lock to the Nemesis. Megatron crashed to the floor on the side of the cybermatter, arm over the edge. He looked up and saw something in front of his /span/p

Both seeking to avenge their comrade's death, Optimus and Predaking charged their blasters and aimed at their /span/

Megatron rose and struck them both over the other side of the Lock with a purple arc on energy from the Dark Starsaber. The warlord tiredly stomped over to see the two hanging by their servo's. He raised the purple sword above his head for another strike.

"Join your comrade in the Allspark, beast, Prime!"

The grey mech swung another purple arc their way that barely missed. It also caused them to release one hand each to swing out of the way.

"I will not miss a second time fools."

As Megatron lifted his weapon for another swing he smirked.

"MEGATRON!"

The one who was called turned and faced the source of the /span/p

Only to gasp as the Starsaber sheathed itself in his /span/p

Firewing onlined his optics and glared forcefully at the Decepticon Warlord whom he had just run through. No one but Optimus noticed the barest of blue glows coming from the ancient weapon of Prima.

"You took my voice. You took my family. You took my friends. You will never rob anyone, of anything... Ever again."

Megatron struggled to comprehend what he had just heard. He spluttered then rasped,

"Who... are you?"

"I am Firewing. But you knew me as Bumblebee, the Autobot scout whose voice box you tore out and family you murdered. Now DIE!"

The red eyed warlord dropped the Dark Starsaber and fell to one knee, clutching the blade that was smeared in dark energon from his spark. Slowly he slipped along it until he fell off and plummeted down to Earth below.

"And this time, stay dead."

Firewing placed the Starsaber on his back and leant over the edge to help up his brother and the Prime. He extended a hand to them each which the pair took. He pulled with all of his strength and hauled them both up onto the giant ring, out of Earth's gravitational force. Optimus rose to his feet after Predaking and stumbled over to the other Predacon. Firewing reached down and picked up the Dark Starsaber.

"Thank you, for saving my life."

"You are welcome Optimus."

Hearing his name snapped the Prime out of the exhaustion as he climbed up the pillar to the control platform. Was it possible that Bumblebee had returned?

The trio made it up the platform, where Soundwave helped them up. The whole group were shocked but Starscream had ran at leader's conqueror.

"I will avenge you Master!"

Starscream was caught by Shockwave and pulled into corridor towards the escape pods.

The Predacon's voice was now a mix of Bumblebee's original voice and that of the new frame.

"Bumblebee? Is that you?"

Ratchet's was filled with hope, but also sadness as he dreaded the answer to his question being no.

"You think me to be a Decepticon? I am not Firewing... I am not Bumblebee. I am... More than them. I am both, yet neither."

"Wait, how's that possible?" Smokescreen was the one to ask the million dollar question. A difficult quest that Optimus answered.

"He means he is a combination of the best aspects of each persona, which were most likely fused by the power of the Omega Lock. Am I right?"

"Are you ever? Just kidding, that's the best explanation anyone could come up with." Bumblebee/Firewing laughed.

The group laughed for a while but turned their attention to the intact Lock that Megatron had intended to destroy Earth with. The Wreckers arrived when the verdict was being made.

"Optimus, there is enough cybermatter here to cyberform a planet."

"Or rebuild one."

The conversation went on while the others talked amongst themselves.

"So, 'Bee what was it like to have to pretend be Megatron's lapdog?"

"Worse thing ever 'Cee. It was hilarious to see Screamer getting smacked around though. It happened pretty much every day. Best entertainment ever."

After Optimus had finished his discussion with Ratchet, he approached Soundwave."Thank you Soundwave. Without you, we would have suffered more in trying to save Earth."

Again, the former CO spoke only a few words telepathically.

'Optimus Prime superior: Soundwave inferior.'

"You are not below me Soundwave. The truth of leading is to be one of them but show them the way. I believe Megatron missed that."

Once again Soundwave reached out and spoke mentally.

'You truly are a great leader. You are not afraid to admit your faults and there is grace in your failures. Not many see that. Megatron could admit to some failures but was mostly to proud to. I was not always Soundwave. Shockwave made me into this. I was once a mech by the name of Blaster. He is gone but still is a part of me.'

With the spacebridge powered up and ready to go, it was time to return to Cybertron. To restore it.

"Hey Raf, if you can tear yourself away from your laptop for two seconds, how about you bridge yourself and the others up here so we can get to Cybertron already." Bumblebee/Firewing said over the comm jokingly.

" _Bee?_ "

"Who else buddy? Now move it or lose it, we've got a planetary restoration to get going."

The humans were all bridged up to the warship, Soundwave could send them back so it wasn't a problem if they all came along, and the spacebridge was locked on to Cybertron. The portal activated and a swirling green vortex burst into life. The warship moved through it and, when it exited the other side, the dead Cybertron was visible.

A short while later and the warship was hovering above the Well of All Sparks. Ratchet was hesitant to press the hardlight button but did so and the pool began to swirl and spiral.

Bumblebee/Firewing stood on the edge of the well, after retrieving Sapphire from Soundwave, and observed alongside Predaking. How ironic that the very thing that restored him, memories and all, would restore his home. Ironic but it felt right.

The Lock reached operational state fired a beam straight into the Well, toward the heart of Primus who would soon awaken to govern the spawning of new sparks. The beam ended and was all absorbed into the core. Slowly but surely a pure blue glow emanated from the Well and spread all over the planet.

Cybertron lived again.

Predaking took flight and flew over the desolation that had laid waste to the whole world. It was truly beautiful even if the planet was a ruin.

Once more the spacebridge opened and the warship headed into it. It exited back in the Milky Way galaxy and headed back to Earth. When they were close enough, Soundwave bridged the humans back as the Cybertronians aboard the ship prepared for departure. All the Autobots were walking into the bridge that would take them to Earth when Arcee asked,

"You coming, Mr Got-my-voice-and-memories-back?"

"No, I'll fly."

"You know that's going to hurt in reentry right?"

"Like the humans say..."

Bumblebee/Firewing's wings folded out of his back and he continued.

"...Yolo!"

And he fell off the ship with his wings tucked against his back. As he entered Earth's atmosphere, the Predacon became a comet. Once inside, he aimed his body at Jasper, Nevada.

'Here I go again.'

As soon as the city was semi-visible, Bumblebee/Firewing re angled himself at the military base where Autobot's home was. Deciding to try out his subatomic transformation, he reformed parts of his outer armour, the palms of his servos and vbottom of his pedes into jet thrusters by visualising what he fired them and the flames died fairly quickly around his body. His wings extended in an instant and Bumblebee/Firewing glided the rest of the way to the base. One the way he reverted his successful subatomic transformation.

The Predacon landed outside the base and walked in before anyone saw him enter his home away from home.

When he entered, the Bumblebee part of him took over and went to comfort Raf who was upset that he was leaving. He pick up his friend in one clawed servo and held him up to his face.

"Raf. I..."

But he couldn't find the words.

"I know 'Bee. You don't have to say anything."

A thought crossed his mind so he said it.

"I never did."

Across the room Arcee was saying her goodbyes too.

"Stay safe Jack, I don't want to have to interrupt humans belief that they are the smartest race in the universe to pull your aft out of a fight. And don't make me hunt you down." She told him, making a reference to when they first met.

"Got it."  
Miko just cried so Bulkhead gave her a pat on the back and some reassuring words. Optimus said goodbye to all the humans separately.

"While our world can once again support life, we have much rebuilding to do. We will miss our home away from home, and the family we have made here."

"What if the 'Cons come back? Won't Earth be on their radar?" Raf asked.

"Raf, if you need me, or any of us, we're just a spacebridge away."

"I'll stay. To keep an eye on them and be here if the Decepticons ever return. I'm sure I can make something to send and receive messages to and from Cybertron. To keep in contact."

"Thank you Ratchet. We must be going, Cybertron will not rebuild itself." Optimus shook Ratchet's hand and all of the leaving 'Bots went through Soundwave's bridge to the Nemesis.

"Such lustre." Knockout, who'd come out of hiding, stated on the way back to Cybertron. The Autobots all looked at him.

"What? I'm joining the winning team."

Bumblebee/Firewing unfolded his wings from his back and swatted the red medic into the furthest wall. He then grabbed him and fireman's lifted him all the way to the brig, ignoring Knockout's attempts to get free and complaints. He snapped a pair of cuff on the automobile's wrists, opened the door and threw him in.

"Wait! Bumblebee, think about what you're doing!"

"What I'm doing? I'm putting you with your friends. And call me Amalgam."

 **AN: Sorted the word mix up out, took me ages, you guys better review or I'll get even grumpier. Just kidding, but seriously, reviews are damn helpful.**


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